Homage to Oysters
I have never forgotten an article I read about oysters many years ago, in The New Yorker ("On The Bay," by Bill Buford, April 2, 2006). It was about oysters. I'm not sure I had ever even eaten a raw oyster before I read it, but this description made me seek them out, afterward: "Salt and sugar, briny and sweet, an evocation of air and clean water..."
Oysters are not, obviously, vegetarian, but according to The New York Times' fantastic FAQ on food and climate change, which I'm always going on and on about, "Mollusks like clams, oysters and scallops are...great low-carbon choices." Bon Appetit provided further reassurance: "Oyster farms are beneficial to estuaries, and oysters eat algae, which helps clear the water. Also, shell beds provide a habitat for many small species." I'm not 10000% vegetarian anyway, so oysters remain on the menu for me.
Still, the damn bivalves don't make it easy for a person to eat them. This video offers a great one-minute tutorial, but I basically exhausted myself shucking a mere six oysters: https://youtu.be/n_YPxcF1ta4
Worth it, though! At least occasionally. I had three Naked Cowboy oysters, and three Great Gun oysters. The former were a little easier to shuck, but I felt that the latter had a better taste.
Oysters are not, obviously, vegetarian, but according to The New York Times' fantastic FAQ on food and climate change, which I'm always going on and on about, "Mollusks like clams, oysters and scallops are...great low-carbon choices." Bon Appetit provided further reassurance: "Oyster farms are beneficial to estuaries, and oysters eat algae, which helps clear the water. Also, shell beds provide a habitat for many small species." I'm not 10000% vegetarian anyway, so oysters remain on the menu for me.
Still, the damn bivalves don't make it easy for a person to eat them. This video offers a great one-minute tutorial, but I basically exhausted myself shucking a mere six oysters: https://youtu.be/n_YPxcF1ta4
Worth it, though! At least occasionally. I had three Naked Cowboy oysters, and three Great Gun oysters. The former were a little easier to shuck, but I felt that the latter had a better taste.
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